Ellen Mueller

Summer Workshop Series at Test Plot MN

by Ellen Mueller on June 27, 2025, no comments

Workshop Series at Test Plot MN

Mark your calendars! The first 3 workshops connected to “A Line That Grows” at Test Plot MN have been scheduled! All offered free of charge – bring a friend. Test Plot MN is at the intersection of Pierce Butler Rte and Lexington Pkwy N in St. Paul – look for the sign and tiny wood fence off the bike path. Don’t forget to dress for the weather! 🌞

Sun, July 6, 4:30-5:30pm

5 Senses Walk, led by Ellen Mueller
This exercise from the book Walking as Artistic Practice, entitled “Five Senses” will invite participants to take a walk around the Test Plot MN garden, observe one of five senses, and jot down directions for someone else to take a walk inspired by their experience. Also, free copies of the zine, “Observational Walking and the Five Senses,” will be handed out to participants. Come learn more about walking as artistic practice, and enjoy Q&A at the end.

Sat, July 19, 11am-Noon

Types of Line – Zine Making, led by Ellen Mueller (concurrent with Test Plot MN open house!)
Participants will spend time closely observing the Nodding Onions with particular attention on different types of lines. We will create small 8-page zines as we walk through the exercise together. Paper, pencils, and instruction provided.

Sun, Aug 3, 4:30-5:30pm

Line Collages, led by allison anne
Using paper line off-cuts from zines, participants will be invited to create a collage with these materials using washi tape. All materials provided.

I’ll post each of these individually with more info as they get closer, but for now make sure you’re free at these times… see you there!

Reviving Art Sprawl

by Ellen Mueller on June 19, 2025, no comments

Screenshot of Art Sprawl Home Page

Screenshot of Art Sprawl Home Page

I’ve revived a project from 2022 called Art Sprawl. Head over there an check it out! I’ll be publishing a few pieces each month and playing with different zine designs to accompany each piece. These ones are heavy on interviews, so you’ll get to hear directly from the artists in many cases.

Zines Acquired in National Collecting Institutions

by Ellen Mueller on June 3, 2025, no comments

cover of a zine printed in maroon on cream paper

Observational Walking and the Five Senses

Some fun news from earlier this spring: I learned that both Hennepin County Library in Minneapolis and Baylor University Book Arts Collection in Texas have acquired copies of my zine, Observational Walking and the Five Senses, via Minnesota Center for Book Arts where I have been consigning zines and books for several years. Additionally, Baylor also acquired the full Social Practice History 1-8 zine bundle.

McKnight Fellowship

by Ellen Mueller on June 1, 2025, no comments

screenshot of McKnight Fellowship announcement from MCBA website

screenshot of McKnight Fellowship announcement from MCBA website

From the MCBA announcement: (click link to see the images and statement/proposal I submitted with the fellowship application)

“Ellen and Sarah will both be awarded $25,000 in unrestricted funds to explore and deepen their art practices thanks to our partnership with the McKnight Foundation, which annually supports two exceptional Minnesota-based book artists. The pair will also receive a range of professional benefits through MCBA, including studio visits from a national critic/curator; a travel stipend, residency opportunity, and educational stipend; the opportunity to participate in an artist panel at Open Book; 24/7 studio access for two years; and a group exhibition in MCBA’s Main Gallery.

Ellen Mueller explores themes of capitalism, environmentalism, place, health, and interpersonal communication through visual and conceptual contrasts in her zines, drawing, fibers, and writing. “My work is inspired by several events and phenomena at once, and often hinges on a bizarre juxtaposition of two or more seemingly unrelated influences,” she states. “Using this approach, I challenge the binaries humans continually construct, and hope to disrupt seemingly infinite cycles.”

In Mueller’s soft books and zines, she uses self-produced or online imagery in her compositions to reflect her stance on late-stage capitalism and its effects on humanity. “I mine the ways capitalism is integral to all aspects of everyday living and decision making, from food and shelter, to clothing and energy. Absurdity and humor address this creeping influence, even if such gestures are largely symbolic.” She looks forward to deepening her connection to her practice through conversations with peers during the McKnight Fellowship.

With an emphasis on queer and transgender identity, Sarah Evenson creates hand-printed artist’s books, DIY print media, and new media. Evenson’s work reflects the physical relationship between their artistic practice—screenprinting—and their body. “It is a medium in which the pressure needed to create a print comes from the same areas of the body that were most affected by my gender-confirming mastectomy: the chest, arm, and upper back muscles. This connection between my physicality and my craft results in indexical images, works that testify to the strength of my transgender body.”

Evenson uses their work to promote accessible and community-driven book arts within its creation and distribution. They will use the McKnight Fellowship resources to develop their practice and further their reach in hopes of engaging with a larger audiences of queer and trans people across the country. “Subject-wise, my work celebrates the tenderness of human connection and positions Queerness as a practice of transformational love,” shared Evenson.

The finalists were selected by esteemed jurors Helen Hiebert, Sarah Matthews, and Catherine Alice Michaelis (bios below). They shared their impressions of the artists and their work following virtual studio visits with the finalists.

Sarah Evenson’s innovative book work—incorporating the hand (illustration) and technology (animation and printing)—excites me,” shared Helen Hiebert. “Their poignant insights about the body, encapsulated in bright colors, bring queer joy to light.”

Catherine Alice Michaelis noted, “Ellen Mueller’s work engages the broader community as well as the artist, leaving me energized and hopeful.”

Explore the work by the 2025 McKnight Book Artist Fellows below by viewing their winning portfolios and full artist statements. Beneath that, you can also find biographical information about our jurors.

Congratulations to our 2025 fellows!